Video: EDA eyes new opportunities for growthNews & Analysis 7/31/2009 Post a commentOpportunities for EDA to generate more revenue from outside the semiconductor industry frequently surfaced in discussion at this year's Design Automation Conference, with executives suggesting that EDA could play in markets including medical devices, military/aerospace, automotive and clean energy technology.

Graphene nanoribbons lower power, cooler than copperNews & Analysis 7/31/2009 1 commentGraphene nanoribbons below 20-nanometer widths will carry 1000-times more current, and run up to 12-time cooler, than copper interconnects according to carbon semiconductor researchers at Georgia Institute of Technology.

Change of plan and CEO at Air SemiconductorNews & Analysis 7/31/2009 Post a commentFabless chip company Air Semiconductor Ltd. (Swindon, England) has received additional funding from Pond Venture Partners to complete development of its GPS chip and to strengthen its intellectual property portfolio. The company has replaced its top executive as part of a re-organization.

GlobalFoundries, ST, NXP lead weekly story rankingNews & Analysis 7/31/2009 Post a commentHere are the top five online stories for the week beginning Sunday, July 26, as ranked by EE Times Europe readers, up to and including Friday, July 31. The ranking is based on the number of reader "views" or "hits" on a particular article.

AMD, HP propose extensions for PCI Express 3.0News & Analysis 7/31/2009 Post a commentResearchers from Advanced Micro Devices and Hewlett-Packard have written two extensions to the PCI Express 3.0 specification which aims to enable lower cost chips that could support multiple protocols and reduce processor overhead.

Wolfson launches advanced PMIC lineProduct News 7/31/2009 Post a commentWolfson Microelectronics' latest power management chips are the first to employ its BuckWise regulator technology, helping to cut support components and facilitate advanced multitasking.

NXP Class-D car audio amplifier offer high efficiencyProduct News 7/31/2009 Post a commentNXP has introduced a family of dual channel Class-D amplifiers that according to the vendor's promises deliver high sound quality and energy efficiency. The NXP TDF8599 Class-D amplifier family operates with maximum output power from 70 to 130 watts (250 watts mono), significantly reducing power dissipation in the vehicle head-unit when compared to traditional Class-AB amplifiers and ensuring more efficient heat management.

SEMI hails European communication on 'high-tech' industryNews & Analysis 7/31/2009 Post a commentSEMI has claimed that its campaign for greater recognition of, and support for, chip manufacturing in Europe is paying off. Evidence for this will come Sept. 23, SEMI said, when it expects the European Commission's Directorate General for Enterprise & Industry will produce a communication recognizing the importance of "Enabling High-Tech" industries.

Wolfson Q2 sales up 32% sequentiallyNews & Analysis 7/31/2009 Post a commentWolfson Microelectronics plc (Edinburgh, Scotland), a supplier of mixed-signal circuits for consumer electronics, made an operating loss of $2.4 million on second quarter revenue that reached $33.2 million, a rise of 32 percent sequentially but down 38 percent from Q2 2008.

NXP names head of US identification businessNews & Analysis 7/31/2009 Post a commentDutch chip manufacturer NXP BV (Eindhoven, The Netherlands) has appointed Anthony Sabetti as senior director for business development, strategy marketing for the identification (ID) business in North America.

Silicon Valley, Wall Street meet at interconnect eventNews & Analysis 7/30/2009 Post a commentThe Hot Interconnects conference will move from its longstanding home on the Stanford campus to Lower Manhattan next month as organizers try to bring together Silicon Valley technologists and bleeding edge systems users on Wall Street, in part to debate the competition between 10 Gbit Ethernet and Infiniband.

Asyst sells assets to three companiesNews & Analysis 7/30/2009 Post a commentEnding perhaps the last chapter in a painful saga, Asyst Technologies Inc. has agreed to sell its entire assets to three companies: Crossing Automation Inc., Murata Machinery Ltd. and the Peer Group.

New E85 station opening in ArizonaProduct News 7/30/2009 Post a commentThe Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) announces the opening of the first E85 station in Coolidge, Arizona. E85 is a blend of 85 percent ethanol, 15 percent gasoline, designed for flex-fuel vehicles.

Kappos sketches out plans for patent officeNews & Analysis 7/30/2009 1 commentDavid J. Kappos, nominated by President Barack Obama to head the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, pledged to "refashion the patent examination process" and improve funding for the patent office in his confirmation hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee Wednesday.

ARC in take-over talksNews & Analysis 7/30/2009 Post a commentARC International plc (St, Albans, England), a licensor of configurable processor cores, has confirmed that it is in discussions which may result in an offer being made for the company. ARC made a regulatory announcement after its share price started on climb on Wednesday (July 29).

Imagination considers growth by acquisitionNews & Analysis 7/30/2009 Post a commentMultimedia core licensor Imagination Technologies Group plc (Kings Langley, England) is on the look out to grow by acquisition, as well as organically, according to Tony King-Smith, vice president of marketing.

DAC attendance spots recessionary timesNews & Analysis 7/30/2009 Post a commentPreliminary attendace figures at this year's Design Automation Conference show an increase in total conference and exhibit attendance by 12 percent over last year's DAC held in Anaheim, Calif. and by three percent over the 2007 San Diego event.

GlobalFoundries could be the elusive Eurofoundry, and moreNews & Analysis 7/30/2009 1 commentIf Infineon could be persuaded to follow ST and switch outsourced IC manufacturing to GlobalFoundries in Dresden, we would some of the way along the path to creating a Eurofoundry that would keep advanced digital CMOS manufacturing in Europe, albeit with the help of Abu-Dhabian petrodollars.

Continental just keeps afloat in 1H09News & Analysis 7/30/2009 Post a commentAutomotive tier one Continental AG has managed to just keep its adjusted operating figures positive in the first half of the year, but under the bottom line the company made a hefty loss. The outlook is very cautious.

ST sees positive backlog indicators for Q4News & Analysis 7/30/2009 Post a commentIn a commentary of financial results for the first half of fiscal year 2009, European chipmaker STMicroelectronics NV (Geneva, Switzerland) expressed optimism as it expects demand to recover in the second half of 2009.

Final curtain falls for QimondaNews & Analysis 7/30/2009 1 commentInsolvent DRAM manufacturer Qimonda AG's Dresden fab, which has been set into a 'sleep mode' in April, will be switched off for good by the end of the year. In his search for an investor, insolvency administrator Michael Jaffé hoists the white flag.